Evolutionary Psych- Final Review

early hominins

•Evolutionary psychology begins with hominin origins.

•Bipedalism preceded major brain expansion.

•Early tool use marked a shift in cognitive demands.

•Climate shifts influenced physical and social adaptations.

brain and culture

•Brain expansion was gradual but critical.

•Early Homo species used tools and hunted cooperatively.

•Social living became increasingly complex.

•Cultural transmission likely enhanced group survival.

foundations of vulnerability

•Evolutionary changes introduced trade-offs.

•Larger brains increased energy and birthing costs.

•Extended childhood enabled learning but raised dependency.

•These shifts laid groundwork for mental health risks.

rise of sapiens

•Homo sapiens emerged ~300,000 years ago.

•Modern humans outcompeted Neanderthals.

•Symbolic behaviour and language flourished.

•Cultural accumulation accelerated societal complexity.

cognitive advances

•Theory of mind enhanced social cohesion.

•Abstract thinking enabled religion and art.

•Cognitive flexibility allowed adaptive problem-solving.

•Evolution selected for minds capable of introspection.

modern minds, ancient brains

•Our minds evolved for small, cooperative groups.

•Mismatches arise in modern, large-scale societies.

•Fast cultural change exceeds biological adaptation.

•Evolutionary legacies shape current mental health challenges.

hunter gatherer life

•Human minds evolved in small, mobile bands.

•Group cohesion, cooperation, and egalitarianism were key.

•Daily routines involved diverse, physically active tasks.

Ancestral living shaped core social and emotional mechanisms

the mismatch problem

•Modern environments differ drastically from ancestral ones.

•Urban life increases stress, isolation, and sensory overload.

•Sedentary lifestyles and poor diets challenge evolved systems.

•Many mental disorders may stem from environmental mismatch.

implications for mental health

•Social disconnection impacts well-being and resilience.

•Disrupted circadian rhythms affect emotional regulation.

•Evolution-informed therapy emphasizes social reconnection.

•Prevention strategies can focus on lifestyle realignment.

evolutionary trade-offs

•Traits linked to mental disorders may offer benefits.

•High anxiety can enhance vigilance in threatening settings.

•Depressive rumination may aid in complex problem-solving.

•Risk traits can persist if they confer survival value.

costs of adaptation

•Natural selection maximizes reproductive success, not health.

•Some mental vulnerabilities arise from necessary defences.

•Emotional pain signals social or environmental imbalance.

•Maladaptation occurs when these systems over-activate.

beyond “broken” models

•Mental disorders are not simply system failures.

•Evolution offers functional explanations for distress.

•Understanding evolved functions guides compassionate care.

Psychology must integrate both proximate and ultimate causes

fear as defence

•Anxiety evolved to detect and avoid threats.

•Fight-flight-freeze responses are biologically adaptive.

•Sensitivity levels vary across individuals and contexts.

•Overactive systems can produce anxiety disorders.

false positives and safety

•Evolution favours false alarms over missed threats.

•Anxious traits helped ancestors avoid predators and harm.

•Overgeneralization is common in modern environments.

•Chronic anxiety reflects misfiring of safety mechanisms.

anxiety across cltures

•Anxieties reflect local environmental pressures.

•Some fears (e.g., snakes, strangers) are near-universal.

•Cultural expectations shape symptom expression.

Global perspectives support context-sensitive interventions

adaptive signals of depression

•Depression may reflect evolved responses to loss or failure.

•Symptoms encourage energy conservation and withdrawal.

•Rumination might help solve complex social problems.

•Depressed mood can signal need for help or reassessment.

the analytical rumination hypothesis

•Depression promotes deep, focused thought.

•Costly in the short term, possibly beneficial long term.

•Encourages disengagement from unattainable goals.

•May reduce conflict and increase group cohesion.

evolutionary mismatches depression

•Chronic stressors replace acute ancestral threats.

•Modern isolation intensifies depressive symptoms.

•Stigma may prevent help-seeking, worsening outcomes.

•Evolutionary insight promotes more empathetic care.

evolutionary paradox

•Suicide appears maladaptive but may emerge from evolved traits.

•High cognitive ability enables abstract thoughts of self-destruction.

•Emotional pain may override survival instincts.

•Suicide is more common when perceived burdensomeness is high.

pain-brain model

•Emotional pain and future-oriented cognition interact.

•Humans uniquely capable of suicidal ideation.

•Evolution shaped emotional circuits to avoid suffering.

•When these circuits malfunction, suicide risk rises.

prevention and universality of suicide

•Suicide risk is present in all humans to some degree.

•Predicting suicide is nearly impossible—focus on support.

•Universal prevention, not risk targeting, is more effective.

•Evolution reframes suicide as a shared human vulnerability.

cognitive trade-offs of schizophrenia

•Traits linked to schizophrenia may relate to creativity.

•Pattern detection can become maladaptive.

•Abstract thinking evolved but brings vulnerability.

•Trade-offs explain persistence despite reproductive costs.

mismatch and modern stress schizophrenia

•Urbanization increases schizophrenia risk.

•Social fragmentation and overstimulation may trigger symptoms.

•Ancestral settings may have buffered genetic risk.

•Cultural shifts expose vulnerabilities more intensely.

neurodiversity and adaptation

•Mild traits may aid social roles or innovation.

•Some symptoms linked to high neuroplasticity.

•Risk genes may confer benefits in small doses.

Evolutionary models reduce stigma and support inclusive care

reproductive strategy hypothesis

•Eating disorders may link to sexual selection and attractiveness.

•Thinness valued in many modern contexts.

•Self-starvation may signal control or delayed reproduction.

•Evolutionary pressures shape body image concerns.

food, status, and scarcity

•Food signalling is tied to status and resource control.

•Ancestral food insecurity may shape eating behaviours.

•Cultural ideals now exploit evolved sensitivities.

Eating disorders thrive in appearance-driven societies

mismatch and identity ed

•Constant food access mismatches with scarcity-adapted traits.

•Overcontrol of diet may reflect a need for agency.

•Social comparison fuels body dissatisfaction.

•Evolutionary framing supports prevention and compassion.

Hijacking reward systems

•Substances exploit evolved pleasure pathways.

•Drugs provide supernormal stimuli with strong reinforcement.

•Ancient humans used mild intoxicants, not concentrated drugs.

•Addiction arises from mismatched modern environments

trade-offs and self-medication

•Substances may provide short-term relief from distress.

•Long-term costs include dependency and health decline.

•Evolutionary trade-offs explain persistent use.

Some drug use may serve signalling or bonding functions

cultural and genetic factors for substance abuse

•Genetic variability affects addiction risk and tolerance.

•Cultures differ in norms and responses to use.

•Social rituals often regulate intoxication behaviour.

•Evolution-informed policies favour harm reduction.

early life sensitivity

•Childhood is a critical period for psychological development.

•Early adversity shapes lifelong emotional responses.

•Trauma may calibrate stress systems for harsh environments.

•Plasticity allows adaptation, but also creates vulnerability.

adaptive in harsh contexts-hildhood trauma

•Hypervigilance and emotional numbing may protect in danger.

•Maladaptive in safe or stable settings.

•Trauma responses reflect evolved survival mechanisms.

Evolution explains diverse trauma reactions across individuals

implications for practice- childhood trauma

•Evolutionary insight promotes compassion, not blame.

•Therapies can honour adaptive roots of trauma.

•Prevention requires safe, stable childhood conditions.

•Supports need to target environment, not just symptoms.

ageing and brain decline

•Alzheimer’s linked to extended post-reproductive lifespan.

•In ancestral settings, few lived long enough to develop it.

•Modern longevity exposes brain vulnerabilities.

Alzheimer’s may be an unintended by-product of evolution

reproductive trade-offs- AD

•Evolution prioritizes reproductive success over late-life health.

•Oestrogen decline post-menopause may influence brain health.

•Nutritional and activity changes also play roles.

•Life history theory helps explain Alzheimer’s patterns.

Modern risk factors- ad

•Sedentary lifestyles and poor diet increase risk.

•Social isolation may accelerate cognitive decline.

•Evolution-informed strategies focus on prevention.

Community integration and stimulation may protect brain health